Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation,Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies

No 133: Rational Solution to the Laundry Issue: Policy and Research for Day-to-Day Life in the Welfare State

Abstract: The majority of laundry work in Swedish households was carried out by hand, with no technical aids, until the middle of the 20th century. In 1948, less than one per cent of households had their own revolutionary process resulted in the apartment house laundry rooms that are unique to Sweden. washing machine. Thirty years later, this figure had risen to approximately 75%, and 90% of the population had access to a washing machine in various kinds of collective laundry room. The process was implemented through a number of interested parties, of which, apart from women’s representatives, the Swedish state was one of the more driving forces; representatives of industry and the academic world were also involved. This article analyses the collaboration between the interested parties on this issue.